Speaker
Description
The GRAPES-3 experiment, located at 2200 m above sea level in Ooty, India, operates the world’s largest tracking muon telescope, designed to study the influence of cosmic rays on Earth and their interactions with the near-Earth environment [1]. In a major recent upgrade, the effective area of the telescope was doubled by refurbishing nearly the same number of proportional counters as in the original system [2]. These new counters were constructed using more than fifty-year-old iron pipes that had remained almost-buried underground for decades. Their successful reuse required the development of a systematic approach to restore, evacuate, and fill the steel pipes, while maintaining strict operational reliability standards. Central to this effort was the design and fabrication of custom stainless-steel vacuum manifolds at different stages of the program. The first version, introduced in 2011, was a 1500 mm, 10+4 port asymmetric manifold that established the dual functionality of evacuation and gas filling in a single system. In 2012, a more compact 1250 mm version with the same 10+4 port arrangement was developed to improve throughput while optimizing laboratory space. By 2016, the requirements had shifted toward frequent filling, leading to the creation of a 1000 mm, 14-port symmetric manifold in a 7+7 configuration, which provided both compactness and efficiency. All manifolds were constructed from SS316 stainless steel to ensure vacuum integrity and gas compatibility, mounted on SS304 frames for robust support. Helium leak-detection systems were deployed throughout to guarantee long-term reliability. This achievement, made possible through collaboration between TIFR and Fillunger (Pune), highlights the feasibility of sustainable practices in high-energy astrophysics [3]. The successful adaptation of aged materials not only enhanced detector sensitivity but also provided a scalable, resource-efficient model for future experimental upgrades.
References:
1. P.K. Nayak et al., Enhancing the capability through Recycling: Doubling the World's Largest Muon Telescope with almost-buried Iron tubes, Zastita Materijala 66 (2025) (in press).
2. PK Nayak, M. Muthuvinayagam, P.K. Mohanty, Characterization of half-century-old iron tubes and their use in the construction of a next-generation large-area tracking muon telescope, Int. Conf. on NCD, Springer Proc. Mater., (2025) (in press).
3. PK Nayak et al., Enhancing the capability through Recycling: Doubling GRAPES-3 Muon Telescope with almost-buried Iron tubes, Springer Proc. Physics., 432 (2025) (in press).
| Position | Scientific Officer |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400 005 |
| Country | India |